Following the decision to introduce Facilities Management provision to the club, Tony Keohane (Chief Operating Officer, Charlton Athletic Football Club) approached Maxwell Stephens to help. Despite initially intending to take a multi-agency approach to the recruitment, following initial discussions the decision was made to work exclusively with Maxwell Stephens to find the perfect candidate.
“Maxwell Stephens helped me immensely during the recruitment process. Their professional approach is only matched by their resourcefulness. The close rapport they hold with clients in the Facilities Management sector makes Maxwell Stephens as a whole an extremely valuable point of contact. I would highly recommend Maxwell Stephens for your Facilities Management job search requirements.”
The Position
The role posed a unique challenge as it combined both elements of Facilities Management and Events Management. The post entailed management and coordination of all operational aspects of The Valley football stadium and the Club’s state of the art training ground, as well as ensuring the efficient and safe running of events on both match and non-match days.
Other key responsibilities of the role included but were not limited to:
• Developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders including the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council, emergency services, Stadium Sports Grounds Safety Authority, sponsors and third party venue hirers.
• Ensuring the fabric of the building both internally and externally is maintained an serviced to a high standard in accordance with the management contract and agreed budgets.
• Managing contracted maintenance, security and cleaning service providers to ensure the delivery of service within agreed budgets.
• Assisting emergency planning and business continuity planning; reviewing and updating as necessary to ensure optimum effectiveness.
“I engaged Maxwell Stephens via a very amiable search negotiation and after visiting the stadium they got right to work. They produced a good selection of qualified candidates who held the required technical ability and attitude to leading team, providing the reassuring position of selecting a candidate who had the best fit for our existing team. This was a very well managed process producing excellent results.
We are pleased with the progression of our new team member and found what can be sometimes a very time consuming process to be well managed and efficient, with Maxwell Stephens being very conscious of our time as a client.”
The Candidate
A key priority for this appointment was to find a candidate who would seamlessly integrate with the long-established, passionate and innovative corporate culture within CAFC. Someone who didn’t have a “Business Ego”, and someone who would share the values and ethos of the organisation.
In addition to ensuring the candidate’s personal attributes and personality were the right fit, Maxwell Stephens worked closely with CAFC to ascertain the necessary skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications needed to fulfil the requirements of the position.
These included but were not limited to:
• NEBOSH or alternative Health and Safety qualification.
• Hold or be prepared to complete training for NVQ Level 4 in Spectator Safety.
• Essential experience in Health and Safety as well as 5 years’ minimum experience of leading and managing a multi-functional department, including project and event management.
• Experience of managing a facilities team, utilising knowledge of maintenance practices and construction standards.